Center Orval Tessier played briefly with the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins in the 50's and 60's. He was better known as a dangerous goal scorer in the minors and, later, as a junior and NHL coach.
Born in Cornwall, Ontario, Tessier played junior with the Kitchener Greenshirts and the Barrie Flyers. In 1952 he led the OHA with 62 goals then the next year he notched 20 points in 15 games while helping the Flyers win the Memorial Cup. He played four games for the Habs in 1954-55 but the team was too deep at centre.
The Boston Bruins at the 1955 Intra-League Draft picked up Tessier. He played a few games for them in 1955-56 and 1960-61. In between he was a dominant scorer in the QHL and EPHL. He led the Quebec league in scoring in 1957 and was a two time selection to the first all-star team. Two years later he led all EPHL scorers with 59 goals and 126 points in 70 games with the Kingston Frontenacs. In 1961-62 Tessier won his second EPHL scoring title then enjoyed brief success in WHL and EHL. He retired in 1965 after scoring 60 goals for the Clinton Comets.
Tessier turned to the realm of coaching and later became synonymous with a number of powerful squads. He guided the Cornwall Royals to the Memorial Cup in 1972 and helped the Chicoutimi Sagueneens dominate the QMJHL in the late 70's. He then led the Kitchener Rangers to the Memorial Cup finals where they lost to the Cornwall Royals in 1981. The next year he was behind the bench when the team won the national championship behind the brilliance of Brian Bellows and Scott Stevens and Al MacInnis.
Following the Memorial Cup win, Tessier was hired by the Chicago Black Hawks and led the club to a 106 points season in 1982-83. He was presented the Jack Adams Award as the NHL"s top coach but was criticized after claiming the Hawks needed "heart transplants" when they were beaten by the superior Edmonton Oilers in the semifinals. The next year the Hawks dropped 38 points and sported a losing record when he was replaced 53 games into the 1984-85 season. Tessier returned to his roots as coach of the Cornwall Royals in 1986-87.

Orval Tessier
				Regular Season					Playoffs
Season	Team	Lge	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1951-52	Kitchener Greenshirts	OHA	52	62	25	87	0
1953-54	Montreal Royals	QHL	60	21	18	39	13
1954-55	Montreal Royals	QHL	60	36	30	66	8
1954-55	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	4	0	0	0	0
1955-56	Quebec Aces	QHL	28	5	10	15	4
1955-56	Hershey Bears	AHL	2	0	1	1	0
1955-56	Boston Bruins	NHL	23	2	3	5	6
1956-57	Quebec Aces	QHL	68	43	38	81	24
1957-58	Springfield Indians	AHL	12	5	3	8	2
1958-59	Trois Rivieres Lions	QHL	62	27	39	66	4
1959-60	Kingston Frontenacs	EPHL	70	59	67	126	10
1960-61	Kingston Frontenacs	EPHL	34	22	21	43	6	5	4	2	6	0
1960-61	Boston Bruins	NHL	32	3	4	7	0
1961-62	Kingston Frontenacs	EPHL	66	54	60	114	12	11	5	9	14	0
1962-63	Portland Buckaroos	WHL	36	15	21	36	9	7	0	0	0	0
1963-64	Portland Buckaroos	WHL	66	14	34	48	4	5	1	2	3	0
1964-65	Clinton Comets	EHL	66	60	58	118	0
	NHL Totals		59	5	7	12	6

Left Wing Dick Van Impewas part of the Portland Buckaroos for ten years. Dick initially came to Portland from Cleveland of the American Hockey League in 1963 and played 36 games for the Bucks, scoring 13 goals and assisting on 10 others. The Buckaroos had hoped to keep Dick for the following season as well, however they could not work out the financial details with Cleveland. So, it wasn't until Nov. 9th, 1964 that the Buckaroos were able to purchase Van Impe outright from Cleveland. One of the primary reasons Portland acquired Van Impe was due to the fact that he could play center as well as wing. Hal Laycoe was well aware of this since he had utilized Rich as a center in 1958 with New Westminster. Rich played well for the Bucks in 1964-65 and tallied 16 goals and 31 assists while helping the team win the Lester Patrick Cup. The next year looked promising again as he got off to a good start, however on 11/30/1965 he had a hard collision with Jack Bionda during a game in Rochester which resulted in torn shoulder ligaments and a partially dislocation. His season was over after only 24 games. During the 1966-67 season Rich suffered another injury and was limited to 51 games but still managed 9 goals and 33 assists. However, he was finally able to get over the injury jinx and his point production showed it as he played almost all of the team games from 1968 through 1973 while averaging 51 points per season.
When Laycoe was asked about Van Impe during an interview, he labeled Rich as one of the best two-way wingers in the business, a tough checker and a digger in the corners. He also said that Van Impe's checking style forced scoring opportunities and saved goals and that Rich had a history of playing on good lines. Records agree. In Rochester, 1959-60, he teamed with Pat Hannigan and Rudy Migay to score over 100 goals. Van Impe got 25 goals, his best scoring season. With Cleveland in 1961-62 John Ferguson and Hank Ceisla were his linemates. The next year Fred hilts replaced Ferguson and bagged 29 goals. Rich got 18 and Ciesla led the league with 40. Then starting in 1963-64 Rich found himself playing beside Art Jones and Cliff Schmautz and it was a happy union and they seemed to develop a rapport, a second sense, which enabled them to make plays as a matter of course.
In an article in the Oregonian dated 12/20/1966 Van Impe proved what a team player he was, by saying "I'm a two-pointer" and then "If we win and I get a goal or an assist that's great. But first we win. Actually I don't worry much about goals. It depends on the coach. When you play for a man that wants two points, all you have to do is your job. That's why there is a place in hockey for guys like me."
Despite the numerous injuries during his career, Dick still managed to score 260 goals and assist on another 444 goals while playing in the WHL, AHL and EPHL. In addition, he was able to play on two Lester Patrick Cup winning teams in Portland in 1965 and 1971.